Responding to Thrupp's [2003. "The School Leadership Literature in Managerialist Times: Exploring the Problem of Textual Apologism." "School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation" 23 (2): 169] call for writers on school leadership to offer "analyses which provide more critical messages about social…

A number of researchers have provided an overview of the progress of research focusing on gender and educational leadership/management in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Some cast studies of representation as an early phase overtaken by later concern with phenomenological and radical perspectives. More recently, a focus on women and…

This article examines how "Educational Management, Administration and Leadership" has embodied the values, concepts and practice of the field of educational leadership over 50 years and so played a part in challenging or sustaining inequality in education. The article explores selected key concepts, equal opportunities, diversity, and…

The literature on educational leadership and management has referred to culture since at least the 1970s. Despite the concept's mention in over one-third of articles written in this journal, there has been little in-depth engagement with how leaders might influence it and the ethical issues involved. The article argues that leadership must engage…

Consideration of the quality, relevance and utility of research in educational leadership and management has been a growing concern of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, but there is little agreement about its current state or priorities for development. The article reflects on the key criticisms that have been made of research in…

Power is an essential component of leadership and has many complex forms. The article explores how a sample of higher education leaders in the United Kingdom engages with and uses power. It examines how we might understand leaders' orientation to power in an environment where many disapprove of its use. The analysis suggests leaders habitually use…

Argues that research on colleges has focused on discrete levels of management/leadership. Suggests that leadership cannot be understood by discretely analyzing the practice of particular categories of staff. Rather it can be seen as distributed in a variety of different ways and also as simultaneously systemic, flowing, and shaped by the entire…

This article considers distributed leadership in the context of the extensive literature on post-bureaucratic organisations. It suggests that both distributed leadership and bureaucracy are ideal types. It outlines the development of bureaucracy as an organisational form, challenges the often-stereotypical criticisms that have damned the theory…

The White Paper Success for All set out a vision to transform post compulsory education in the United Kingdom. A key theme was "Developing the leaders, teachers, trainers and support staff of the future," reflecting a belief that leadership is one of the key elements in achieving the national vision. Alongside this positive affirmation…

Despite frequently expressed reservations concerning its fundamental theoretical weakness, distributed leadership (DL) has grown to become the preferred leadership concept and has acquired taken-for-granted status. This article suggests that the dominance of DL can best be understood as a fashion or fad rather than as a rational choice. It…

This document is a chapter in "The Principles and Practice of Educational Management," which aims to provide a systematic and analytical introduction to the study of educational management. The structure of the book reflects the main substantive areas of educational leadership and management, and most of the major themes are covered in the…

Education is a global enterprise. It is increasingly assumed that an "international perspective" is required to comprehend and relate this world scale enterprise to national, regional and local practice. The phrase is used frequently and generally without an exact definition of meaning. This article explores how the concept of an "international…

In about a decade the theory of distributed leadership has moved from a tool to better understand the ecology of leadership to a widely prescribed practice. This article considers how to account for its spread and dominance and what purpose it serves. The concept offers an enticing suggestion of including more in leadership, and even sometimes…

Diversity has become a ubiquitous term within education, often harnessed with a second concept, that of inclusion. Despite heightened interest, theorists in education leadership have remained relatively uninterested in multiple aspects of identity and diversity. This article explores the epistemological and methodological implications of moving…

Internationalization has attained great significance in Higher Education, driven by both educational philosophy and commercial imperatives. Cultural change is implied as both a related process and as a goal. The article considers the multifaceted ways in which culture might be conceived and linked to different orientations to internationalization.…